Spark unprecedented buzz for the Xbox One launch of Halo 5: Guardians amongst the Halo franchise’s millions of fans.

Since the release of the first title in 2001, the Halo series has become one of the most successful gaming franchises of all time with total sales of more than 65 million copies worldwide.

The release of a new title is a huge deal for Halo fans, therefore we wanted to make sure the launch of the hugely anticipated Halo 5: Guardians was every bit as spectacular as it deserved to be.

Halo 5: Guardians takes gamers deeper into the Halo world than ever before with a richer and more detailed story, a broader campaign and a focus on cooperative play – we wanted to reflect this through meaningful social bonding and engagement with our fans.

Client Agreed Objective:

• 100 Digital Stories
• 2 x Social Reach of the 12-month average
• 4 x Social Engagement of the 12-month average

The Creative Approach

The Idea: Create a fan-centric launch that was truly out of this world.

The passion and loyalty of the international Halo community has helped to make the series such an epic success, so it made sense that the launch of this latest edition be entirely focused on the fans.

First, we undertook a world-wide search to find the ultimate Halo super fan - and we found him.

The Japanese gamer, known as Sandwhichy, has demonstrated a breathtaking level of commitment to the Halo series, with his passion for the franchise going further than that of any other fan.

Over the past decade he has clocked a phenomenal 10,000 hours playing Halo, which equals an average of 2.4 hours per day - if he played every single day for the past 10 years. Clearly, Sandwhichy is a fan on a truly grand level, deserving of recognition on a scale that was literally out of this world.

We celebrated his almost unearthly achievement by sending his gamer tag to the very location where all the action in Halo 5: Guardians takes place; outer space. Printed on a special flag, alongside a record of his achievement, Sandwhichy’s tag went on a mission to the edge of space and back. His tag was closely guarded by figurines representing the lead Halo characters; Master Chief and Spartan Locke.

All other fans were invited to cast their vote to help decide what other Halo-related items should be sent into space on this mission. Fans responded in the thousands, voting for items such as the M6 pistol replica or a Cortana Mega Blocks figurine.

The space journey was shared globally across a range of channels, including extensive coverage on social media, and was featured in an exclusive six-hour live broadcast on YouTube leading up to the moment when Halo 5: Guardians went on sale in the USA.

The Results

The most successful launch in the history of the Halo franchise, with record-breaking sales of Halo 5: Guardians.

Put simply: this launch was an epic success on every level.

The media went crazy for the story and there were more than 200 clippings that referenced Sandwhichy and his space honour.

The live broadcast featuring the space journey attracted more than five million views from fans across the world, especially in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, UK and the US.

On social media, this campaign achieved 2.5 times the average reach and 5.8 times the average amount of fan participation, as well as a vast number of video views and positive fan comments.

Perhaps most importantly, the fans embraced the game on an unprecedented level and Halo 5: Guardians experienced record-breaking sales, grossing US$400 million in the first week.